The Council of Europe continues to be the only organisation in Europe able to set intergovernmental standards in the field of e-voting.

The Recommendation Rec(2004)11 on legal, operational and technical standards for e-voting remains the only source of reference on the subject, and is even used in national jurisprudence, as well as by other relevant international actors.

Since its adoption, the Recommendation has been subject to biennial review meetings. Discussions in the Council of Europeís competent Rapporteur Group (GR-DEM) as well as a recent expert meeting on the Recommendation have also shown a growing consensus as to the need to update the present Recommendation, given newer technological and societal developments over time.

In this context, the fifth review-meeting on the Recommendation has been scheduled to be held in Lochau (Austria) on October 28. The meeting will be aimed at taking stock of the latest developments in its implementation and practice by election authorities in Member States.

It will be an opportunity to bring countries up
to date regarding the latest developments on
e-voting in Europe and also for enter into first
discussions as to the content of the upcoming
update of the Recommendation.